Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Museum may reopen despite cuts

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials say the Benjamin Franklin Museum will still reopen this summer after a $23.1 million renovation, despite federal spending cuts.

Before Wednesday, Independence National Historical Park officials had feared the museum wouldn’t have enough staff to open because of across-the-board federal spending cuts known in Washington as the sequester.

But The Philadelphia Inquirer reports park spokeswoman Jane Cowley says it may be able to open after all. The park got word Wednesday that it would be able to hire enough seasonal workers to reopen the museum, which has been closed for modernization.

New staff still has to be hired and trained, however. That means the museum may not be open for the Fourth of July as originally scheduled. Instead, it will likely open in August.